Description of Historic Place

The Canadian Pacific Railway Station at Fredericton is a large, two-storey, brick railway station. It is comprised of the original building built in 1923, and an adjoining freight shed added to the east end at a later date. The formal recognition is confined to the railway station building and the freight shed addition.

Heritage Value

The Canadian Pacific Railway(CPR) Station at Fredericton served as the northern terminus of the Fredericton Branch Line(FBL). The FBL provided a reliable, all-season route from Fredericton to the shipping port of Saint John, New Brunswick, as well as direct access to the central Canadian market. The present station, built by the CPR in 1923, is one of only two stations remaining on the FBL line. The Fredericton station became the focus of Fredericton’s first industrial park.

The Fredericton station is a large, brick building with sandstone trim and a hip-roofed profile typical of CPR stations of the era. It is one of the few brick stations remaining in New Brunswick and is distinguished by tapestry brick patterning, very rare in Fredericton. Its formal approach and architectural sophistication are in sharp contrast to the simpler, more whimsical CPR wooden stations of New Brunswick.

Source: Heritage Character Statement, Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Fredericton, New Brunswick, January 1992; Gwen Martin and Robert Power, Railway Station Report 036, Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of Canadian Pacific Railway Station at Fredericton include:
-its exterior form, comprised of a prominent two-storey central block with a medium-hipped roof, two flanking one-and-a-half-storey side wings with gable roofs and returned eaves, an open shelter on the west end and a one-storey ell with an adjoining freight shed on the east
-its heavy massing, broken by the irregular roof heights and sweeping overhanging eaves supported by decorative brackets
-construction materials which add texture and interest to the station, including the well-defined sandstone foundation and a highly textured, tapestry-brick, exterior laid in decorative patterns
-the arrangement and design of window and door openings, including main entrances on either side of a central bay window, plain, sandstone lintels and sills, transoms with three lights at the entrances, double-hung windows with multiple lights in the upper sashes and a single light below, and a round, arched window in each of the gable ends
-surviving original interior finishes, including oak panelling, brick wainscotting, tongue-and-groove wainscotting in the baggage room, express room and freight shed and Douglas fir detailing, hardwood floors and plaster walls on the second floor.